Electrical connectors are used in a wide variety of applications. Some connectors simply are used to transmit power from a power source to an appropriate appliance. Other electrical connectors are used to interconnect signal transmission lines to printed circuit boards, other electronic devices or to other complementary connectors. The transmission lines transmit signals through a plurality of conductors which, preferably, are physically separated and electromagnetically isolated along their length. Hybrid connectors are known in which both power and signals and/or data are transmitted through the connector interface.
Some electrical connectors also employ various types of shield means, ground means or the like to protect or electrically interact with the transmission lines and their terminals within the connectors. For instance, ground planes or plates might be used to simply shield or protect the terminals/transmission lines internal to the transmission system from receiving or transmitting electromagnetic or radio interference from outside the transmission system. On the other hand, ground planes or plates may be used to control "crosstalk" (electrical noise induced by mutual coupling) between adjacent conductors or terminals within the transmission system. Sometimes this is referred to as controlling the mutual coupling of conductors or terminals. The present invention is directed to the use of ground planes, plates or the like in the latter sense of controlling the mutual coupling of electrical conductors, particularly the terminals within an electrical connector.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,353, dated Apr. 7, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,069, dated Apr. 19, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,327, dated Sep. 6, 1994, all show electrical connectors with a "cross-shaped" ground plate means at the interface between a pair of mated electrical connectors. The cross-shaped ground plate means may be provided by a one-piece cross-shaped conductive ground member in one connector of a mating pair of connectors. On the other hand, the cross-shaped ground plate means may be formed by a pair of perpendicular, interposed ground plates, with one of the plates being on one of the mating connectors and the other plate being on the other connector. In any event, the cross-shaped ground plate means defines four plate edges with four quadrants therebetween. At least one terminal is located in each of the quadrants. Therefore, the cross-shaped ground plate means provide an enhanced mutual coupling effect with the terminals and substantially eliminates crosstalk or mutual coupling between the terminals.
The present invention is directed to an improved grounded terminal array, particularly using a cross-shaped ground plate means of the character described above. Consequently, the above-referenced U.S. patents are incorporated herein by reference.